Eleven-year-old Elizabeth Ann Bishop is a library MVP. Bishop earned a trip to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, winning the 2009 Step Up to the Plate @ your library contest by demonstrating her information literacy skills.

In early October, Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith (seen below) drew Bishop’s name as the grand-prize winner. She was randomly selected from eligible contestants across the country and Puerto Rico who correctly answered a series of baseball trivia questions.

As the 2009 winner of Step Up to the Plate @ your library Bishop, a frequent library user from Chambersburg, Pa., traveled with her family to Cooperstown, N.Y. for the Hall of Fame’s 13th Annual World Series Gala on Saturday, Oct. 31. The Gala featured a live broadcast of Game 3 of the 105th World Series, between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies in the Hall of Fame’s Grandstand Theater.

“The best part was watching the game at the Hall of Fame with other fans,” said Bishop, who sported Phillies player Ryan Howard’s jersey for the occasion. “It was like being there.”

Bishop also received a tour of the Baseball Hall of Fame and library.

Each year librarians at the Baseball Hall of Fame work to generate a series of questions for Step Up to the Plate that test library users’ information literacy skills.

Read more about the Bishops’visit in the Chambersburg Public Opinion, Chambersburg’s local newspaper.

Contributed by Megan McFarlane, Coordinator, Campaign for America’s Libraries

Photo courtesy of the Chambersburg Public Opinion

Tags: ALA Membership, ALA Midwinter Meeting, ALA News, PR tools, State of America's Libraries Report, Youth Media Awards by admin
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Hundreds of libraries across the country are preparing to celebrate National Gaming Day @ your library on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009. How popular is gaming in libraries? A recent study shows that more than 75% of public libraries support gaming, by offering computer or board gaming, circulating games, or offering gaming events and programs.

A National Gaming Day @ your library publicity toolkit is now available at “http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/mediapresscenter/presskits/ngd09/ngd09mtk.cfm” to help libraries promote their gaming programs and events to the media. The Web toolkit includes downloadable artwork, customizable postcards, a sample press release, a sample letter to the editor and much more.

To learn more about National Gaming Day @ your library please visit http://ilovelibraries.org/gaming.

Contributed by Macey Morales, manager, media relations, ALA Public Information Office

Tags: ALA Membership, ALA Midwinter Meeting, ALA News, Libraries in a tough economy, National Library Week, PR tools, State of America's Libraries Report by admin
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Nominations have opened for the 2009 Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award.

Like last year, library users are invited to nominate a librarian in a school, public, college, community college or university library. Up to 10 winners will receive $5,000, a plaque and a travel stipend to New York for an awards reception hosted by The New York Times in December.

Last year, nearly 3,200 nominations were received for the award. To learn more about last year’s winners, visit this page on the award’s Web site.

Although librarians are not eligible to submit nominations, you can promote the award locally to encourage your library users to do so. Tools - including a sample flyer, logos, web badge and press release - are available for free download.

Visit this page to view highlights from last year’s award ceremony.

Submitted by Megan Humphrey, Manager, The Campaign for America’s Libraries.

Tags: ALA Membership, ALA News by admin
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Ten libraries in 10 states from New York to Alaska received $5,000 grants as part of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Libraries, Literacy and Gaming initiative, funded by the Verizon Foundation.

The winners, representing a broad spectrum of libraries – seven public, two school and one academic – will use the funds to develop and implement gaming and literacy programs that provide innovative gaming experiences for youths 10-18 years of age. The 10 libraries were selected out of 390 that applied for the grant.

Among the libraries chosen was the Indian Trails Public Library of Wheeling, Ill.

In this video, we visit the library and talk with library officials about how they heard about and obtained the grant, as well as their plans for using it.

The Libraries, Literacy and Gaming initiative is generously funded by the Verizon Foundation and managed by ALA’s Office for Literacy and Outreach Services. Dr. Scott Nicholson, an associate professor in the School of Information Studies, Syracuse University, is the evaluation specialist.

Tags: ALA Membership, ALA Midwinter Meeting, ALA News, PR tools, Youth Media Awards by admin
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CHICAGO - Some of the nation’s top experts will participate in a series of public awareness and media relations programs at the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago (July 9-15).

“Pride and Passion: The African American Baseball Experience.” On Saturday, July 11, a panel discussion hosted by the ALA’s Campaign for America’s Libraries and Public Programs Office (PPO).will be held from 10:30 a.m. to noon at McCormick Place, room W-192B.

The program features Lawrence R. Hogan, author of “Shades of Glory: The Negro Leagues and the Story of African-American Baseball”; author Sharon Robinson, daughter of Jackie Robinson; Coretta Scott King Book Award winner Kadir Nelson, author and illustrator of “We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball”; Susan Brandehoff of ALA’s Public Program Office and others.

PR Forum: Delivering your key messages effectively through traditional and non traditional media. From 8 to 10 a.m., Sunday, July 12, in McCormick Place West room W-192B, a panel will address how to communicate effectively with multi-cultural audiences, reach audiences through social media, deliver library messages through radio and effectively use letters to the editor and op-eds.

Speakers include Tom McNamee, editorial page editor, Chicago Sun Times; Dave Baum, Chicago broadcaster and media trainer; Eric Friedenwald-Fishman, creative director/president, Metropolitan Group; Kevin Kirkpatrick, executive vice president, Metropolitan Group; George Eberhart, editor, American Libraries Direct; and Megan Humphrey, manager, Campaign for America’s Libraries.

The program is sponsored by the PR Assembly of the ALA Public Awareness Committee in cooperation with the ALA Public Information Office’s Campaign for America’s Libraries.

Media training: How to communicate effectively with the media and win. Legendary Chicago broadcaster Dave Baum returns Sunday afternoon to offer his popular media relations training session, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., at McCormick Place West in room W-194B. Baum will provide tips on how librarians can effectively deliver their key messages and garner favorable media coverage. Baum has trained dozens of ALA presidents and division president-elects since 2000.

The Campaign for America’s Libraries is ALA’s public awareness campaign that promotes the value of libraries and librarians. Thousands of libraries of all types – across the country and around the globe - use the Campaign’s @ your library brand. The Campaign is made possible in part by ALA’s Library Champions.

For more information, contact John Amundsen at jamundsen@ala.org

Contributed by Mark Gould, Director, ALA Public Information Office

Tags: ALA Annual Conference, ALA Membership, ALA News, Campaign for America's Libraries, National Library Week, State of America's Libraries Report by admin
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This year, Friends of Libraries U.S.A. (FOLUSA) and the Association for Library Trustees and Advocates (ALTA) joined forces to become an expanded division of ALA.

In this audio interview, Sally Gardner Reed, the executive director of the new organization, the Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations (ALTAFF), which is based in Philadelphia, talks about the new division and its potential.

Contributed by Mark Gould, Director, and Steve Zalusky, Manager of Communications, ALA Public Information Office

Tags: ALA Membership, ALA News, Podcasts by admin
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